CPO (Used) Tesla Questions

[SBPNW]

Hello everyone,
After a year of driving two different EV's ( we are entirely an EV household) I am ready to take the Tesla plunge. I am currently located in WA state and am looking to buy a Model S (used) from Tesla. I of course have ten thousand questions about this topic but I am going to limit myself to a few out here. I am hoping to find a Tesla with CPO warranty for 4yr/50k in the 40-45,000 range.
1) Ideally I would like to buy a AWD but would love to hear some thoughts from people who have RWD and have driven it in winter weather. Just to give you an idea about my lifestyle, I am not looking to navigate Snoqualmie or Stevens Pass in winter or go up on Mt. Baker ( just realized only WA people will get this reference). Basically I am not looking to do major driving in the snow and ice, however would prefer the stability of AWD when dealing with hills and occasional icy weather.
2) Are there any compelling reasons to chose the 70 over 60 model, apart from range of course. I occasionally do the 200 miles roundtrip in my current Chevrolet Bolt. Such trips are great in summer but in winter it requires at least one charging stop, which can be a logistical headache for non-Tesla owners.
3) The most affordable options for me seem to be located in California and I was wondering if people had experience picking up their Tesla in California and driving to their home state. What is the process like? Any idea about sales tax and dmv fees, I cannot seem to find a clear answer anywhere.
4) Any reviews about the Seattle Tesla stores would be very welcome. If anyone has a particular CPO advisor they can recommend that would be fantastic. If any local Tesla owners (in the area between Everett and Blaine) have any advice that would be particularly welcome. Happy to buy you a coffee, wine or beer for your time.
Thanks,
SD

 

[Tam]

...1)...RWD...

If you live in a snow region, I don't why you have to settle with RWD if you can afford AWD.

Either way, I think snow tires is very important.

2) ...range of course....

Range is King! Don't nickle and dime on range if you can afford the extra.

3) ...California...

I don't know about the tax situation in WA but if you pick up a car in CA, you have to pay CA sales tax. So, in some cases, it could mean double taxation in CA and also then repeat again in another home state (some states don't collect sales tax on EV so it's not double taxation.)

 

[Doanster1]

As @Tam stated, buy as big of a battery pack as you can afford. Dual motor also nice, but again, it’s all about using the right tires.
To get a 4yr warranty, the car has to be under 50K miles. Assume you’re using Hank’s site (or the other aggregator site) in your search?
Finally, Samanthajoy Fatlan out of Bellevue (she actually is probably the PNW regional rep) is fantastic. I have nothing but good things to say about her when she helped me find my P85D. It was under the old program, though, so some things are prob out of her control now.
My car was in LA, but it was shipped to me here in Portland, so never a mention of any Cali taxes. That’d be odd anyway. Same thing for DMV fees. It’s all local jurisdiction.
PM me if you’d like her contact info. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[glide]

As @Tam stated, buy as big of a battery pack as you can afford. Dual motor also nice, but again, it’s all about using the right tires.
To get a 4yr warranty, the car has to be under 50K miles. Assume you’re using Hank’s site (or the other aggregator site) in your search?
Finally, Samanthajoy Fatlan out of Bellevue (she actually is probably the PNW regional rep) is fantastic. I have nothing but good things to say about her when she helped me find my P85D. It was under the old program, though, so some things are prob out of her control now.
My car was in LA, but it was shipped to me here in Portland, so never a mention of any Cali taxes. That’d be odd anyway. Same thing for DMV fees. It’s all local jurisdiction.
PM me if you’d like her contact info. Good luck and keep us posted.

Tesla does not ship CPO vehicles any more. Any vehicle located in CA requires you to pick up an pay CA sales tax.

Basically, if you are looking, cross CA off your search list.

 

[Super_Popular]

As @Tam stated, buy as big of a battery pack as you can afford. Dual motor also nice, but again, it’s all about using the right tires.
To get a 4yr warranty, the car has to be under 50K miles. Assume you’re using Hank’s site (or the other aggregator site) in your search?
Finally, Samanthajoy Fatlan out of Bellevue (she actually is probably the PNW regional rep) is fantastic. I have nothing but good things to say about her when she helped me find my P85D. It was under the old program, though, so some things are prob out of her control now.
My car was in LA, but it was shipped to me here in Portland, so never a mention of any Cali taxes. That’d be odd anyway. Same thing for DMV fees. It’s all local jurisdiction.
PM me if you’d like her contact info. Good luck and keep us posted.

Under the old CPO program they would ship cars, but no longer.

Tesla no longer ships cars to you, you have to go pick it up no matter what state it's in and pay that states sales tax.

 

[SBPNW]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Unfortunately the new CPO program.no longer ships so I will have to pick it uo, I don't mind the drive, the primary concern with picking up in CA is the sales tax and dmv fees. While I would prefer not to pick up in CA the availability and price seems best there. I am planning to make a trip to my DMV to check about sales tax reciprocity.

 

[Doanster1]

Thanks for the corrections/clarification regarding shipping of vehicles. As for registration, I wonder if you can just get a temp/trip permit if you show that you’re a non-CA resident and driving the car back home.

 

[glide]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Unfortunately the new CPO program.no longer ships so I will have to pick it uo, I don't mind the drive, the primary concern with picking up in CA is the sales tax and dmv fees. While I would prefer not to pick up in CA the availability and price seems best there. I am planning to make a trip to my DMV to check about sales tax reciprocity.

I'll save you a trip. They will credit the tax paid but the rate in CA (around 10%) is higher than the WA rate of 6.8% and you will not get a refund.

Vehicles brought into Washington from out-of-state | Washington Department of Revenue

 

[SBPNW]

Thanks for this. It is what I was afraid of...unless the cost differential is absolutely compelling I guess would not make much sense to try and do a CA pickup. At this point I have been able to locate 3-4 cars that I want in CA, WA availability is pretty low and the price differential is about 4-5K

 

[ev-now]

We have an S60 RWD in CO. Mife doesn't like driving it in the snow. In reality the only time I had to turn back was when we found a fully polished hill that the Pirelli Zoto 2's could not grip.

My advice. RWD is fine, but as others have said get AWD if you can afford - better resale in an area with real winter.

Range. Big battery pack you can afford (choose battery capacity over AWD if you have to cut corners). Winter weather reduces range. Range anxiety is real - it's a curve you start with it, get used to your usage habits, get over confident (!) and find yourself the wrong end of a cold journey.

Love our car, only regret is S60 - in our part of the world that really limits ability to road trip on the Tesla network (cannot go north through Montana for example - simply do not have the safe range to do it).

Good luck - our CPO is great, the program has changed quite a bit - I'd really suggest going for a local car you can review before committing if possible.

 

[kellymc]

If you wait until January CA cars may drop in price since a majority will no longer be eligible for HOV lane access. I just did the opposite, bought a MS85D in Portland and drove it to CA. The drive was great on i5 - good supercharger access and only about 30 minutes longer than in a ICE.

Also as all others have said, go for as big of a battery as you can afford, also in my opinion AWD drives better than RWD

 

[SBPNW]

We have an S60 RWD in CO. Mife doesn't like driving it in the snow. In reality the only time I had to turn back was when we found a fully polished hill that the Pirelli Zoto 2's could not grip.

My advice. RWD is fine, but as others have said get AWD if you can afford - better resale in an area with real winter.

Range. Big battery pack you can afford (choose battery capacity over AWD if you have to cut corners). Winter weather reduces range. Range anxiety is real - it's a curve you start with it, get used to your usage habits, get over confident (!) and find yourself the wrong end of a cold journey.

Love our car, only regret is S60 - in our part of the world that really limits ability to road trip on the Tesla network (cannot go north through Montana for example - simply do not have the safe range to do it).

Good luck - our CPO is great, the program has changed quite a bit - I'd really suggest going for a local car you can review before committing if possible.

Thanks for the response. I definitely get the range anxiety part, I drive a Chevy Bolt currently and the main reason I am thinking of a Tesla is because of the range anxiety in winter, anything with a round trip of more than 170 miles requires too much planning. Any experience with AP1 or AP2?

 

[SBPNW]

If you wait until January CA cars may drop in price since a majority will no longer be eligible for HOV lane access. I just did the opposite, bought a MS85D in Portland and drove it to CA. The drive was great on i5 - good supercharger access and only about 30 minutes longer than in a ICE.

Also as all others have said, go for as big of a battery as you can afford, also in my opinion AWD drives better than RWD

Thanks for the tip about January and HOV lane access. I am okay waiting it out for a bit, ideally I would be able to find something locally but I really doubt that something with my preferences and price point would show up in WA state. I don't imagine straying too far from the I-5 corridor and therefore not too worried about the range. I am not too keen on the S60 simply because the range is lower than my Chevy Bolt. Also is hard to find a AWD with the S60

 

[dgpcolorado]

Under the old CPO program they would ship cars, but no longer.

Tesla no longer ships cars to you, you have to go pick it up no matter what state it's in and pay that states sales tax.

IME many states will adjust the sales tax to the state of the buyer. California is a notable exception. I bought a new LEAF in Oregon and had it transported to Colorado. The Oregon dealer charged me Colorado sales tax and when I got the car home I didn't have to pay any additional tax when I registered the car. This is typical.